Ask Personal MBA Coach

Thank you for your post. Are you able to give a bit more detail:

- What school did you go to?
- What is your startup specifically?
..... - How many employees?
..... - Revenue / profit?
- What do the extra-curriculars look like?

I would want this info in order to properly advise you.

Best,
Scott

Hi, thanks for the reply.

I went to Mumbai University, and I have a double bachlelors in Business and Law. I pursued law simultaneously with my full time work.

My start up was a proptech start up, with upto 14 employees ( Full time + Part Time) Revenues were close to USD 20000.

I have 40 hours of volunteer experience at Teach For India.
I have been part of the management committee at my college festival.

It looks like the last post did not get posted. Did you apply yet at this point? If you are still looking for guidance please let us know. Best of luck!

Hi Personal MBA Coach,

I would like to request a suggestion/opinion on a confusion I am facing. One of the B-School Forum Moderators suggested that I reach out to you for help as you people have a rich experience in the MBA admissions process.
I received an admit from a business school in Georgia, USA with a full scholarship and stipend/graduate assistantship. Therefore, I asked other two MBA schools for which my decision was pending after the interview if it is possible to provide my application decision sooner as I already have a decision in hand and wish to make an informed decision before paying out the enrollment fee. The schools reverted with a request to send them a copy of "Admission Letter" and "Scholarship Letter" before taking the case to the Admissions Committee for decisions.
Now, I am little confused whether to provide the letters or details such as the name of program, amount, the deadline for payment, etc. to those schools. I am not sure whether this would put my only admit into jeopardy or help me.
Kindly advise. Hope to hear from you soon.

Great question and thank you for reaching out. I would provide them what they asked for. I would not be concerned that your admission would be in jeopardy. If you do not provide it to them then it will cause question into the validity of your statement so I would send it. Good luck!!

Dear Personal MBA Coach,

Thank you for your time! Originally, I was planning to wait until the fall of 2019 to apply to MBA programs to build up my work experience; however, I figured that applying to some programs this year would be a good way to get a feel for the application process (and perhaps get accepted to one of my top choice schools).

I chose to apply to Yale and Northwestern this fall, and got denied at Northwestern and waitlisted at Yale after an interview. I am not yet applying to any Round II schools, and I'm planning to enroll in the HBX CORe program in January to help strengthen my position on Yale's waitlist. (I expect to get my CORe results back in mid-April, which would fall after Yale's round II decision date (April 2) but before the round III date (May 21).

An overview of my background/experience:
27 y/o white American male
3.66 GPA (magna cum laude) from a top-5 LAC; graduated in 2013
Graduated from a Master of Social Work Program earlier this year and working full-time at a Catholic social services organization in Indiana
780 on the GMAT (Q50, V48, AW 6.0, IR 8) (took the GMAT in November 2016)
Work experience: worked for 1.5 years as an AmeriCorps VISTA member prior to grad school. I researched and gave presentations on unaccompanied child migration from Central America. I started my current position as a counselor in June 2018, so I will have about 2.5 years of work experience if I matriculate in 2019, and 4.5 years if I matriculate in 2020.
(I also spent a year in a religious order, and although I wouldn't really count it as work experience, I figure I should put it on my resume so schools aren't wondering what I did the year after I graduated from college.)
As I mentioned above, I am planning to enroll in the HBX CORe program in order to gain a background in finance, microeconomics, and analytics. I believe this coursework will help demonstrate to schools that I am prepared to take on MBA-level quantitative coursework.

Intern/volunteer experience: The MSW program involved about 1,000 hours of field experience. I interned at a mental health center for the first half of those hours, and for the second half, I interned at a homeless services agency in DC. I also interned at a men's transitional home in the summer of 2016, and worked on a project to assess residents' perspectives on the program. I also spent 3 months living and working with immigrants from Central America at a shelter in Houston back in 2013.

I am greatly enjoying my work as a counselor. However, I am ultimately hoping to pursue an MBA so that I can transition to nonprofit management. My goal is to help nonprofits grow and develop so that they can better serve their clients. Following graduation, my plan would be to work as the director of development for a medium-sized social services nonprofit, or as an associate director at a larger social services nonprofit.

Here are some questions I have at this time:

1. I would love ask Yale and Northwestern for feedback on my applications this year, as this could help boost my chances of acceptance the following year (or getting off the waitlist at Yale). Would it be a bad idea to reach out to them directly for feedback? I'm guessing the areas that I most need to strengthen are my work experience and quantitative background, but getting some confirmation on their end would be much appreciated.

2. Do you have any guesses about my chances of possibly getting off the waitlist at Yale after completing the CORe program? I imagine this is hard to answer, as the odds must change a lot from year to year.

3. I am greatly enjoying working at a Catholic nonprofit, and I hope to continue serving at a Catholic organization following my MBA studies. With this in mind, I have been thinking about Notre Dame and Georgetown, as both are Catholic universities that I believe will offer a solid nonprofit management education and a great career network. In fact, I have even been considering submitting an application to one or both of these schools for Round II of this year. What advice would you give about that option? Part of me feels it would be more prudent to wait until next year to apply (especially because I am still on the Yale waitlist).

4. If I don't get off Yale's waitlist, and if I don't apply to any schools for round II, then my plan would be to apply to a number of schools next year (ideally before the round I deadlines). Here is my list for round I 2019 applications at this point. I would appreciate any feedback you might have on my chances and on my goodness of fit for each program. I'm certainly open to adding other schools, but that may require taking some off this list (at least for Round I).
I recognize that applying to 8 schools in one round is a lot of work, but I think the deadlines for these schools will fit together pretty well, and I'll be able to start working on essays during the summer. I'm open to shifting to a 2-round plan, though.

1. Columbia (would apply ASAP to benefit from the rolling admissions process)
2. Yale
3. Northwestern
4. Michigan
5. Duke
6. Notre Dame
7. Georgetown
8. Harvard

Thank you in advance for your feedback!

Thank you very much for your detailed post and for your great work! You remind me of another client we have this year who has a pretty similar background and goals. Without going into details publicly, we are doing a pretty moving story, though spending quite a bit of effort on connecting the dots as needed in a non-traditional application. I think this would help you a great deal as well. See below for answers to your questions.

1. I would love ask Yale and Northwestern for feedback on my applications this year, as this could help boost my chances of acceptance the following year (or getting off the waitlist at Yale). Would it be a bad idea to reach out to them directly for feedback? I'm guessing the areas that I most need to strengthen are my work experience and quantitative background, but getting some confirmation on their end would be much appreciated.

Not a bad idea at all. You may not get feedback but you can certainly ask. Yale SOM is more likely to give feedback given the WL.

2. Do you have any guesses about my chances of possibly getting off the waitlist at Yale after completing the CORe program? I imagine this is hard to answer, as the odds must change a lot from year to year.


Waitlist odds are tricky as getting off depends largely on who they have at the end of the day who looks and feels like you. I do think showing interest in Yale would be important though. If you want more advice on waitlists, we have a waitlist support package: https://www.personalmbacoach.com/waitlist-strategy

3. I am greatly enjoying working at a Catholic nonprofit, and I hope to continue serving at a Catholic organization following my MBA studies. With this in mind, I have been thinking about Notre Dame and Georgetown, as both are Catholic universities that I believe will offer a solid nonprofit management education and a great career network. In fact, I have even been considering submitting an application to one or both of these schools for Round II of this year. What advice would you give about that option? Part of me feels it would be more prudent to wait until next year to apply (especially because I am still on the Yale waitlist).

Some of this would be a personal decision. I can certainly see the connection and the support you would receive based on your background. I can also say that looking at your profile, you should be able to succeed next year at other schools. So if your objective is to go to one from your list below, it would be prudent to wait.

4. If I don't get off Yale's waitlist, and if I don't apply to any schools for round II, then my plan would be to apply to a number of schools next year (ideally before the round I deadlines). Here is my list for round I 2019 applications at this point. I would appreciate any feedback you might have on my chances and on my goodness of fit for each program. I'm certainly open to adding other schools, but that may require taking some off this list (at least for Round I).
I recognize that applying to 8 schools in one round is a lot of work, but I think the deadlines for these schools will fit together pretty well, and I'll be able to start working on essays during the summer. I'm open to shifting to a 2-round plan, though.



Sure, happy to give some initial thoughts. Of course this would adjust as I get to know you better and create the whole package together!

1. Columbia (would apply ASAP to benefit from the rolling admissions process) - Pretty good chances if applying through ED
2. Yale - Pretty good if we can improve some aspects of the application
3. Northwestern - Decent chance, but not super high
4. Michigan - Strong chance
5. Duke - Strong chance
6. Notre Dame - Very strong chance
7. Georgetown - Very strong chance
8. Harvard - Bit of a wild card

Thank you in advance for your feedback!

You are most welcome! Feel free to reach out if you want to explore working together.

Thank you very much for your prompt and detailed response! I am leaning towards waiting to apply to other schools until next fall, as I believe you are correct that that is the more prudent option. That will also give me more time to learn more about these different schools and visit more campuses.

You are most welcome. Please reach out directly scott@personalmbacoach.com to explore working on your apps.

Best,
Scott

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Hi,

I am having trouble choosing between Cornell MBA and HEC Paris ( Jan intake)
My post MBA goal is to work in the consulting space.

I would greatly appreciate your guidance in helping me decide

Thanks.

Hi Kalyani,

Sorry for the late reply! If you are still deciding, a lot will factor in where you want to end up post-MBA. If your goal is to work in the U.S., Cornell is the right choice, as they have strong ties to Tier 1 and 2 consulting. If your plan is work in Europe, go with HEC, since it's often very difficult to recruit to Europe from an American school without prior connections.

Regards,

.

Hello PersonalMBACoach!

Could you please evaluate my current profile and provide advice on how to proceed? I’m struggling with a low GMAT score after 4 takes (also nervous about being an Asian American applicant) and would like to know if my target schools are even realistic. I think it’s possible I could reach a 700 with a 5th retake but nothing higher. What would I need to achieve to get my foot in the door for an interview? Full disclosure, I don’t plan to apply for a few years as I recently graduated from undergrad.

Asian/White Male
American (Midwest)

GMAT: 670 (43 Q, 39 V, 7 IR, 6 AWA)
GPA: 3.9 (Summa Cum Laude)
Major: Finance (1st); Marketing (2nd)
Undergrad: Top Regional Private University (Midwest)

Work Experience:
[*]Top tech company early-in-career leadership program (non-technical, marketing & intl focused)
[*]Fulbright scholarship (teaching university students in Asia)
[*]6 internships in undergrad (insurance, government, healthcare & consulting)

2 Fortune 500 companies
U.S. Senate
1 intl internship (China)

E.C.:
[*]Extensive involvement in LGBTQ+ organizations (youth focus)
[*]Student government leadership in uni (oversaw large budget & ran in prez campaign)
[*]Heavy service involvement in uni (leadership in alternative breaks)
[*]Studied abroad in Southern Africa (political science focus)[/list]
***Seeking to con’t involvement LGBTQ+ and education-focused orgs. over next few years

Honors:
[*]Fulbright scholar
[*]Thesis publication on K-12 teacher tenure in U.S. public schools
[*]Top 15 student award in uni (2 years in a row)
[*]Guest speaker at undergrad’s state of university address, intl LGBT conference, etc.
[*]Pell-grant recipient & paid my own way through uni via merit & need-based scholarships

Recs:
[*]Confident I can obtain 2 quality recs from supervisors and possibly alums of a Top 10 program

Desire for MBA:
[*]Short-term: to obtain qualifications and skills needed teach business and/or leadership classes to undergraduate students as an adjunct prof.
[*]Long-term: desire to run for public office and/or work in public policy/government, focusing on education and intl relations

Target Schools:
[*]Dream: Yale SOM
[*]Next Preferences: Haas, Kellogg
[*]Others: NYU, LSE, Georgetown
***I’m seeking programs that are more international and government/public policy focused. Are there any others you think I should consider?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Hey AkanshaS,

Thanks for posting! There are many other factors that pertain to admission from a top-5 school, and once you have cleared a certain hurdle, the score becomes less important than your overall story.

Your GMAT is a touch on the low side for the schools you are looking to apply to, but I do like the relative evenness of your quant and verabal scores (in terms of percentile). I do think it's possible to move from a 47 to a 49 in quant with a bit of study, which would bring you up around 740. That being said, 720 isnt a bad score by all means and shouldn't come as a red flag to any school.

Your work experience is very good and schools will like the finance/M&A experience, especially as a foreign female. It can be applied to a wide range of post-MBA jobs, including consulting. Again, a lot will come down to your recommendations and ability to describe your impact at work and post-MBA goals.

MBA admissions for the top 5-7 schools can often times be very random, so it's difficult to give exact chances for places like HBS, Stanford, and Booth. The competition is fierce, and schools note that they could fill their class two times over with qualified applicants.

I do think you can be successful within the top 20, but I think your list of targets is a bit ambitious. I see your particular profile doing well in the 7-20 range (think Fuqua, Ross, etc.). That being said, I think you can be competitive in the M7 with a very strong overall application. Feel free to reach out at scott@personalmbacoach.com to discuss your profile in more depth.

Look forward to hearing from you,

Hey NHUANG,

First things first, don't take the GMAT again until you're scoring above 700 on practice exams. You've taken it 4 times already (which is too many IMO, but what's done is done), so don't waste one last attempt unless you've made significant progress in your studying. If all else fails, you can look at the GRE - its much more forgiving and more and more applicants are applying with it. While your GMAT score is on the low end, I don't think it's a disqualifier from your target schools, but it will certainly mean the rest of your application must be perfect.

You have very distinguished academic achievements and a track record of leadership, two things which make you stand out from the pack. You've had a wide range of work experience in undergrad, so my recommendation would be to try and not jump around much over the next couple of years unless you are able to significantly advance your career.

In terms of post-MBA goals, I don't think it's a wise idea to tell schools you plan to use an MBA to become a teacher, nor do I think you need an MBA to become one. I do think a relevant long term goal could be a professorship or something in government/policy, but short term I would either focus on tech or possibly education consulting with a firm like McKinsey. Your story makes the most sense when framed this way.

In terms of your selection of schools, I think they are a bit ambitious but not impossible. Like I said, it's going to take a stellar application to offset a low GMAT, so I'd be focusing on making the best impact you can at work and in your community until you apply. Perhaps think about starting from scratch on the GMAT prep and really diving into some quant resources. It should't be that difficult to bring a 43 to a 45-46 and reach 700. You don't have a very standard profile, and I could see an instance where a top school really likes your story and accomplishments and disregards your GMAT.

Feel free to reach out at scott@personalmbacoach.com for help on the GMAT or your plan over the next couple of years. We offer both GMAT tutoring with folks who scored in the 99th percentile and a pre-MBA program for those who are a couple of years out from applying.

Hope to hear from you soon!